The Water Rats, 1886

Frank Meadow Sutcliffe's famous image of boys playing in the sea provoked consternation amongst conservative sections of Victorian society for its depiction of nude children. It is one of the earliest examples of using depth of field creatively in the composition of a photograph

Young boys play in Whitby harbour, 1886. This image was entitled The Water Rats and was part of Frank Meadow Sutcliffe's wider project of documenting the Yorkshire seaside town with which he became synonymous. Sutcliffe was a member of the Linked Ring, a society of photographers dedicated to promoting the medium as an art form in the late-Victorian periodIllustration: Frank Meadow Sutcliffe/ Royal Photographic Society/ SSPL via Getty Images